Brian Rosenberg is on a very personal mission to help LGBTQ+ people build their families. When he was in his 20s and 30s, he said in an interview, “Gay men were not thinking about becoming parents because everyone who would have done it was dying, and many of us, like myself, have HIV, and so we weren’t planning for it.”
Queer parents and prospective parents can sometimes have a hard time finding support and community. Marea Goodman, a licensed midwife and queer parent, is hoping to make that easier with PregnantTogether, a growing virtual community for queer and solo parents and parents-to-be.
A new, action-oriented guide for educators and others wanting to create supportive school environments for trans and nonbinary youth is set to be one of the most important LGBTQ-related books of the year. The authors spoke with me about their work.
When Jaimie Kelton launched a podcast for queer families in 2018, she thought, “This would be a fun side project.” Now, 11 seasons later, she’s interviewed hundreds of queer families, published a book based on many of their stories, and has just rebranded the podcast to emphasize the range of queer family experiences the show covers.
Fashion designer and Queer Eye star Tan France plays one half of a two-dad couple in Netflix’s new animated preschool series Princess Power. He spoke with me about the show, how being a dad himself influenced his character, and the importance of representation and intersectionality in children’s media.
Kelley Robinson, the new president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), is the first Black, queer woman to lead the organization. She’s also the mother of a toddler. Being a mom and wife is “the center of everything I do,” she told me in an interview about her family, her work, and her vision for the future.
Ashley T. Brundage is a leadership and empowerment expert and an “open, out, proud woman of transgender experience.” She’s also a mom, and spoke with me recently about empowerment, parenting, and more.
Something Great … is simply great! A nonbinary child stars in this story of STEM thinking, creativity, and friendship that refreshingly is not “about” their queer identity. Author/illustrator Jeanette Bradley was kind enough to share a little about her inspiration and influences.
Drag queen storytimes are under attack from politicians and white supremacists. Drag queen and children’s book author Lil Miss Hot Mess has been a target, but also a leading voice opposing this onslaught. She thinks kids and drag have a natural rapport.
Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning picture book, And Tango Makes Three (Simon & Schuster), based on the true story of two male penguins who hatch an egg together, has been one of the most-challenged books in the country since shortly after it was published in 2005. Yet the current surge of book bans and challenges sweeping through the U.S. is different from anything they’ve seen before, they told me in an interview.
